1991 — Somaliland Declares Independence

On May 18, 1991, clan elders and the Somali National Movement proclaimed the independent Republic of Somaliland at Burao, after a decade of war against Siad Barre's regime. Elders of every major clan ratified the breakaway, giving the declaration a breadth meant to rest on consent as well as on victory in war.

This land had even been its own state for five days in 1960. Since 1991, Somaliland has held elections, printed its own currency, and built its own army. Yet no country has formally recognized it. It endures as a state in practice, still waiting for the world to say so in law.